Just because the NSA, CSEC and allied spy agencies have the ability to conduct vast snooping operations shouldn’t give them the licence to do so.

Chancellor Angela Merkel protested to President Barack Obama about the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropping on her mobile phone. The two are seen here on June 19, 2013 in Berlin.

Published on Sun Oct 27 2013

National Security Agency spies no doubt had a few chuckles as they listened in on 35 world leaders as they discussed everything from Europe’s economic woes to their affaires de coeur and grocery lists. But the American spying yielded “little reportable intelligence,” according to one memo made public by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, and it carried a high cost.

Washington’s addiction to wholesale, unwarranted cyber-snooping has left President Barack Obama working the phone lines to placate political leaders in Europe, Brazil and Mexico as friends, allies and trade partners cry betrayal and ponder retaliation. The latest outraged parties include German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande, who are calling for a “no spying” pact to remedy this breakdown in trust.

This comes at a time when Obama is struggling to reassure Americans alarmed by the NSA’s grotesquely excessive domestic surveillance.

For the sake of “intel” of marginal value, the U.S. government is damaging its image and buying itself a passel of trouble.

The furor affects Canada’s interests because it draws attention to, and criticism of, the “Five Eyes” information-sharing pact that links the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has been embarrassed by the revelation that the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), our modest answer to the NSA, regarded Brazil’s mines and energy ministry as a target. The Brazilians, with whom we share billions in investment and trade, were annoyed. Now our European allies may well wonder what we’re up to.

This speaks to the need for Obama — and Harper as well—to sharply rein in the snoopers. Just because the NSA, CSEC and allied agencies have the ability to intrude on a vast scale shouldn’t give them the licence to do so. They need to be kept on a short leash.

As the Washington Post put it in an editorial this past week, “better political controls are needed, along with an injection of common sense.” That’s a point Conservative Sen. Hugh Segal has rightly been making here, too, with his timely call to give Members of Parliament more power to scrutinize the security services’ operations.

The White House may be tempted to shrug off protests by Merkel, Hollande and others as pro forma gestures to placate domestic constituencies. The U.S. also argues that it must look to its own security, and that everyone spies. But that misreads the concern that is building over the sheer scope of American spying.

At a personal level Obama risks alienating leaders on whom the U.S. relies for support at the United Nations Security Council in confronting Iran’s nuclear aspirations and other threats. Those leaders also open doors for American trade. And they help the U.S. forge coalitions of the willing at times of crisis, such as the Balkans wars or Afghanistan. Even a U.S. president needs friends in high places. Obama can’t manage the world alone.

The U.S. also risks souring public opinion in countries such as France, where the NSA was said to have hoovered up data on 70 million phone calls in a single month. That feeds the anti-Americanism that is so damaging to U.S. interests.

In addition, Washington invites active pushback by way of trade retaliation, less security co-operation and tit-for-tat espionage. And there’s now a push in Europe to hinder U.S. intelligence-gathering by requiring service providers to delete a user’s personal data on request, and by blocking providers from giving data on citizens to other countries.

There’s no denying that the U.S. and its allies have an interest in maintaining robust security agencies as a bulwark against military threats, terrorism and transnational crime. But America’s obsession with security since the 9/11 attacks and its abusive espionage overreach are unhealthy. When friends become targets, Washington isolates itself. That’s not good for America, or the world.

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